Sustainable Agriculture field days announced for July 11-12

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Two great opportunities to learn more about agroforestry are coming up next month as part of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agriculture Grant Program. Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland to create more diverse and productive lands.

Farmers and agroforesters have used the grant funds to research ways to develop low-cost planting materials and to establish methods of accelerating agroforestry adoption for function and profit. Farmers in Sauk Centre and Pine River will hold field days to share their research. The field days are in Sauk Centre on July 11th from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., and in Pine River on July 12th from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The field day events are co-sponsored by the Central Chapter of the Sustainable Farming Association.

Both field days will start with a farmer-led presentation about the project followed by presentations by agroforestry experts. On July 11th, participants will tour the nursery and in-field plantings at both Camphill Village and Early Boots Farms; both farms are located in Sauk Centre. On July 12th, participants will tour the nursery and in-field plantings at the Hunt Utilities Group Campus in Pine River. The field days will culminate with a woods walk to demonstrate the use of Ecological Classification Systems to determine the native plant communities of each farm.

Directions to July 11th Field Day: From Long Prairie, drive south on US 71 for 8.4 miles, then east on 221st Ave (Cedar Lake Drive) for 1.2 miles. Turn north onto Celtic Dr. Follow signs for parking.

From Sauk Centre, drive north on US 71 for 8.2 miles, then east on 221st Ave (Cedar Lake Drive) for 1.2 miles. Follow signs for parking.

Directions to July 12th Field Day: From Pine Right, drive west on County Road 2 for ½ mile. Turn north on Dancing Wind Road. Follow signs for parking.

For more information contact Jim Chamberlin at 218-831-0528 or jchamberlin@hugllc.com.